Goal Setting

The volume of tasks required to maintain a successful farming business can be significant. Maintaining your own health and wellbeing—equally, if not more important—can also be challenging. During tough times this can seem overwhelming. Setting goals can make things more achievable. Form a clear picture of what could improve your life. Set SMART goals to help achieve this:

Specific: Make a concrete goal focusing on behaviour and results (for example: For the next 4 weeks, I will spend one hour each morning working through the farm paperwork).
Measurable: Make a goal so that you easily assess your progress (for example: I will walk for 30 minutes every Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning).
Agreed: Ask others to help you achieve your goal (for example: I will ask for assistance from my accountant/the Rural Financial Counselling Service to better manage the farm finances).
Realistic: Make goals that are challenging but achievable (for example: I will walk 1km every day but take Sunday off to have a game of golf).
Time specific: Set a deadline for achieving your goal and keep track of progress in a visible way (for example: Over the next month, I will walk 4 days a week and I will make a mark on the calendar for each day I achieve this).

Sometimes ‘letting go’ is even more important than ‘taking action’. Let go of unhealthy behaviours and unnecessary activities. Learning to say ‘no’ can be an important goal.

Break down large goals into smaller, manageable steps. Record each of these steps and how you will achieve them using the SMART approach. Don’t be afraid to adapt your goals if circumstances change or you come across new information.

Acknowledge your progress when achieving even small goals or small steps to achieving a larger goal. This may be as simple as ticking something off a list that you have on your fridge. A visual representation of your achievements can be good motivation to keep going.

Find out more about setting goals for physical activity at Better Health Channel

References used for this topic page

More information:

MindTools

Locke’s Goal-Setting Theory: Setting Meaningful, Challenging Goals

Better Health Channel

Physical activity – setting yourself goals

Research & reviews:

American Psychologist

Building a practical useful theory of goal setting and task motivation: A 35-year odyssey

Locke, E.A. and Latham, G.P. (Eds.) (2013). New developments in goal setting and task performance. New York: Routledge.

Health Psychology

Self-regulation of health behaviour: Social psychological approaches to goal setting and goal striving

Agronomy for Sustainable Development

Processes of adaption in farm decision-making models. A review

Fast facts:

Goal setting

Last updated: 14th December 2016

 

2017-12-9 Rural women leading Victoria’s agricultural sector – Hamilton Spectator

2017-12-7: Course aims to improve health outcomes – Countryman Perth

By Jo Fulwood

Agriculture is widely acknowledged as being one of Australia’s most dangerous industries, but more funding is now available to improve the skills of professionals working in rural areas.

A total of $15,000 in scholarships are now available for a five day intensive agricultural health and medicine program, to be held early next year in Hamilton, Victoria.

The academically recognised postgraduate course, offered through Deakin University’s School of Medicine and the National Centre for Farmer Health, will equip health providers, rural professionals and farming communities with the knowledge and skills they need to help reduce the industry’s high morbidity and mortality rates.

Albany couple Jack and Lisa Wieske, who both work as health professionals in rural WA while living on a working cattle property, completed the course on a scholarship.

Both say the skills they have learned have changed their ability to help farmers improve health outcomes.

Mr Wieske, who is a clinical nurse, now provides health assessments for farmers to give them a snapshot of their overall health and wellbeing.

“To perform these assessments we need to be qualified as a registered nurse, but it is also a requirement for us to have completed this course,” he said. “The course gave me a different view of health, focusing on primary care or preventative health care, so we were no longer dealing with the problems when they were at such a level we were unable to reverse matters.

“We both have enjoyed being part of this movement to improve the lot of our rural sector.”

For Mrs Wieske, the course allowed her to understand the specific health issues relating to those working in agriculture.

“I was working in haemodialysis nursing and was becoming aware of higher incidences of farmers and rural people ending up on dialysis due to chronic disease,” she said.

“I wanted to become more proactive in the prevention of chronic diseases and to also promote farm safety, and this course gave me the knowledge and skills to do this.” Mrs Wieske said she believed she was making a significant difference to the health and wellbeing of farmers in the Albany region.

“Whether I’m encouraging a farmer to look after his or her health through health assessments, or chatting about the everyday stresses of farming, I feel
like I’m making a difference to the people in our area,” she said.

National Centre for Farmer Health’s Susan Brumby said agricultural workers had a high rate of injuries, including fatalities, and also suffered chronic
disease at higher rates than those in the cities.

“A healthy workforce is vital for a productive agricultural industry, but we have learned farming families and their communities face poorer health outcomes than their urban counterparts,” she said.

Scholarships are being offered in the three categories of Open/Multidisciplinary, Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander, and Veterinary, Psychology or Optometry professionals.

The five-day program will run from February 26 to March 2 next year in Hamilton, Victoria.

The partial scholarships are open to anyone with a graduate degree, and cover tuition fees Applications close December 10.

Course details are available at deakin.edu.au, while information on the scholarships can be obtained from Jacquie Cotton by calling (03) 5551 8585 or online at www.farmerhealth.org.au.

2017-12-5: Pioneering rural women leaders look back on pivotal US study trip, twenty years on – ABC Rural

By Jess Davis

Just shy of twenty years ago, a large group of women working in rural industries embarked on an overseas study trip that would change the trajectory of many of their lives and point them towards the peak of their professions.

The second International Women in Agriculture Conference was held in Washington DC in 1998, attended by 120 Australian women and a select 30 from rural Victoria.

The Victorians were awarded bursaries from the State Government for the three-week trip that included an agricultural study tour.

Most had never been overseas before, and many of them now say it was a pivotal moment in their careers.

At 21 years of age, Caroline Coggin was the youngest delegate to attend the Washington DC conference.

“I actually feel that perhaps it has changed me more than I realised and perhaps I don’t give enough credit to travelling to Washington and being on that tour,” Ms Coggin said.

Farmer Health eNews December 2017

Find out all the latest from the National Centre for Farmer Health

View the December 2017 eNews



2017-12-2: Gentlemen of Geelong 2017 lunch: Sheedy joins top blokes for good cause – Geelong Advertiser

THE boys were back in town yesterday for a good cause — a good time.

Moustaches and RM Williams were on full display for the annual Gentlemen of Geelong lunch, which drew a capacity 220-strong crowd to the Bellarine Peninsula.

Men from across Victoria met at the Flying Brick Cider House for the event that aims to encourage them to talk about things historically off limits, such as depression and suicide.

After raising more than $50,000 last year, the event was set to collect a record figure around $60,000.

Flying Brick owner David Sharp said monies would be donated to a range of charities, including Headspace Geelong, Lifeline Geelong and the National Centre for Farmer Health.

“The lunch has been running for 14 years. About 10 years ago, we decided to give the lunch a lot more meaning,” he said yesterday.

“Men’s mental health is an issue close to a few of us who are on the organising committee.”

AFL legend Kevin Sheedy and local radio personality Ian Cover were among the special guests.

Donations can be made at www.au.movember.com — then type in Gentlemen of Geelong.

View article: 2017-12-2: Gentlemen of Geelong 2017 lunch: Sheedy joins top blokes for good cause – Geelong Advertiser

2017-11-22: Telling farm stories – The Telegraph

f you are a Victorian woman living in a rural farming community and have a story to tell, the National Centre for Farmer Health wants to hear it from you.

If you live on the land, you must have lived through some tough times and the centre wants you to share your experience, tell your story and help others by taking this supported opportunity to participate in a From Inside the Farm Gate digital storytelling workshop.

The centre’s Deakin University research fellow Alison Kennedy said feedback from previous digital storytelling workshop participants included:

‘‘It was a powerful, fantastic and at times quite full on experience.’’

‘‘It reinforced that people can understand… the underlying problems in peoples lives by watching and listening to their personal story.’’

‘‘Watching my video I am very proud of the outcome. Several people have watched it and have given back so much positive feedback.’’

‘‘Participating in the digital storytelling workshop was both a very humbling experiences well as inspirational, in working so closely with such a small group of other amazing farmers… shared their (stories) to initially a room of strangers, who three days later had then become very special friends. This could never have occurred without the amazing support from the (workshop facilitators) … Well done to all who participated.’’

Dr Kennedy said the centre was looking for 24 enthusiastic rural Victorian women whose lives had been affected by tough times in some way, such as physical health, wellbeing challenges for themselves or someone they have cared for, financial hardship, bereavement, natural disaster or leaving the farm.

She said participants needed to be comfortable using a computer, attend a three-day workshop and be passionate about telling their story to give voice to rural women and build knowledge and understanding of the rural experience in the broader community.

‘‘The good news is we can provide accommodation and most meals, and travel allowance to recognise the time off-farm or away from your community,’’ Dr Kennedy said.

‘‘We want to make a short movie/video (digital story) using sound, narrative, images and voiceover.

‘‘Typically, digital stories run for two to four minutes and contain an emotional component that enables personal perspective to be communicated.’’

More information can be found at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital—storytelling

The sessions will be in Hamilton from January 30 to February 1 (workshop one) and February 6 to 8 (workshop two).

The $2500 places are free to participants. To register your interest and learn more about the workshop, phone Dr Kennedy on 55518533 or email alison.kennedy@wdhs.net

This project has been supported by funds donated by the Victorian Women’s Benevolent Trust and the William Buckland Foundation.

View article here: 2017-11-22: Telling farm stories – The Telegraph

2017-10-17: ICOH Symposium – Zagreb, Croatia

Professor Susan Brumby was one of 9 invited keynote speakers at the round table discussion on Experiences in training health professionals: Current situation and unmet needs around the globe. Prof Brumby Chaired a Special Session on Education and training in agricultural health and safety – Exchange of experiences in teaching methods, b-learning and organising a repository of e-materials and presented Blended learning courses in farmers health, lessons learnt.

Round table discussion: Experiences in training health professionals: Current situation and unmet needs around the globe

A short introduction on OSH in Australia

Current situation: In Australia the industry with the highest number of fatalities during 2015 and the second highest over the last decade was in the Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing Industry. Whilst there has been improvements in other industries, Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing has remained constant over the last decade. There are numerous reasons for this. In Australia, the major killer of people on farms is the four wheel bike (or all-terrain vehicle) as it is known. It has replaced tractors as the major cause of death. Currently there is a variety of schemes and government responses to address these fatalities including a focus on roll over and crush injuries from Quad bikes. Unmet need: There remains a lack of knowledge, awareness and will in some areas of the industry as well as the tyranny of distance, working alone, poor phone and internet coverage, vast distances and access to services should assistance be required. This discussion will present and show a variety of methods currently being used in Australia to reduce OSH risk, injury and fatalities.

About Professor Susan Brumby

Professor Susan Brumby is the founding Director for the National Centre for Farmer Health, a partnership between the Deakin University’s School of Medicine and Western District Health Service and is based in Hamilton, Australia. The Centre provides leadership to improve the health, wellbeing and safety of farmers, farm workers and their families across Australia.

She leads the implementation of five key strategies which includes inventive and award winning service delivery models, farmer research, education and training, the farmer health website https://farmerhealth.org.au and works with an Advisory committee comprised of academics, farmers, health professionals and government representatives in order to achieve the mission of ‘making a difference to farmers’ lives’.

Susan is the course leader for the Graduate Certificate in Agricultural Health and Medicine, Principal Investigator of the award winning SFFTM project, Chief Investigator on National Health and Medical Research Council grants and previously Chief Investigator on Australian Research Council, Rural Industries Research Development Corporation and beyondblue grants. She has been recognised for her contribution to rural health, awarded a Victorian travelling fellowship in 2006 and an overseas study program in 2013 to examine farmer health. Her PhD was on Farm Work and Family Health across selected Agricultural Industries in Australia. In 2014 her team was awarded the Vice-Chancellors award for Excellence in Teaching. She is an appointed member of the Victorian Rural Advisory Council that advises the Minister for Agriculture on matters such as rural adjustment, regional issues, training, drought and other matters as requested by the Minister. A graduate of the Australian Rural Leadership program, Susan has presented and published nationally and internationally.

Farmer Health eNews November 2017

Find out all the latest from the National Centre for Farmer Health

View the November 2017 eNews

2017-11-01: Working towards healthier farms – GippsDairy Newsletter – How Now Gippy Cow

Now entering its ninth year, Australia’s only postgraduate agricultural health and medicine unit for professionals servicing farming communities continues to attract participants from across Australia.

Designed to confront the high morbidity and mortality rates in the agricultural industry, the internationally recognised course better equips health providers, rural professionals and our farming communities with the knowledge and skills they need to help turn things around.

To date, 150 professionals working in agriculture, medicine, allied health and nursing from all over Australia have undertaken the course. The National Centre for Farmer Health’s (NCFH), Dr Susan Brumby said that a healthy workforce is vital for a productive agricultural industry, but through the work of the NCFH, we have learnt that farming families and their communities face poorer health outcomes than their urban counterparts.

“Agricultural workers have a high rate of injuries including fatalities and suffer chronic diseases at high rates,” she said.

“A growing number of agricultural and health professionals are addressing the health disparities in our agricultural and rural populations and making a real difference to the lives of farmers and their families and employees.”

Moira Tulloch, a Registered Nurse and Clinical Manager from Briagolong received a GippsDairy scholarship in 2017 which helped her manage rural patients better.

“The knowledge I have gained has become an integral part of my [rural] nursing practice,” she said.

“It was a great experience learning from other rural professionals from both Australia and overseas.”

This was also the case for 2017 GippsDairy scholarship recipient, dairy farmer and registered nurse, Kathryn Croatto.

“I now try to include as much health information into my consultations, I am more aware of patient occupations and potential hazards,” she said.

GippsDairy regional manager Allan Cameron said GippsDairy saw the scholarships as a practical way to improve health outcomes for the dairy community.

“The scholarships put knowledge in the hands of local health professionals who then take that into the wider community,” he said.

“Each scholarship recipient adds to the store of information on health issues for farmers, which is already making a difference to the way health professionals are approaching patients from farms.”

Round Two Scholarships are now open for the exciting 5-day-intensive Agricultural Health and Medicine unit (HMF701), being offered through Deakin University and the National Centre for Farmer Health (NCFH) in Hamilton, western Victoria, from February 26th to March 2nd 2018. The presented topics cover a broad range of agricultural health, safety and wellbeing issues ranging from mental illness and addiction through to emergency medicine, agrichemicals and agricultural trauma. The course has also been accredited for professional development points in areas of medicine, veterinary science, social work and nursing. Applications for Gippsland health and agricultural professionals are now open and close 5th December 2017.

The HMF701 unit can be completed as a stand-alone course, and has been accredited for professional development points through selected colleges and associations, with some health professionals eligible to become AgriSafe™ providers.

For more information about Agricultural Health and Medicine and how you can get involved, contact Dr Jacquie Cotton, Lecturer Rural Health at NCFH on 03 5551 8533 or Salle Clynes, Gipps Dairy on 03 5624 3900 visit https://farmerhealth.org.au for further information.

Course details are also available at http://www.deakin.edu.au

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2017 Glove Box Guide to Mental Health – The Land

View full issue: 2017 Glove Box Guide to Mental Health

2017-10-10: Victorian Country Hour – ABC News

Interview with Dr Alison Kennedy and Nick Shady about farmer mental health in the context of Mental Health Week.
Click here and listen from the 22 minute mark.